1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is generally related to partitioning in computer systems. More particularly, the present invention is related to a system and method for platform resilient VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) processing in a partitioned environment.
2. Description
Problems exist today when trying to deploy VoIP as a ubiquitous feature in a consumer environment. Unlike traditional wired telephone service, the current state of the art for VoIP is highly susceptible to drop-outs (i.e., dropped calls) and significant system lags/delays in transmission streaming. Another problem associated with current day VoIP is spotty peer-to-peer handshake communication.
Many of the problems encountered by VoIP often times have to do with the platform configuration and the software environment in which VoIP operates; not in the underlying network service. Often times the problems that occur are associated with bad driver functionality, very poor real-time support with the operating system (OS), viruses, delays, bad timing algorithms that cause the network to slow down or the machine to hang for inexplicable periods of time, etc. An OS is very prone to driver instability which may lead to critical errors in overall component operations as well as time-critical streaming services. Problems may also be associated with poorly controlled environments where untested software combinations have been employed which may cause odd interactions with other components in the software stack.
If any of these problems occur when running active voice software in a backbone call server, gateway, a softphone or in terminal IP phone, etc., dropped calls and garbled data are sure to result. For example, a call server having a VoIP engine that resides within the host partition and operates from the same operating system as the host partition is susceptible to these problems. If the operating system crashes, so does the VoIP engine. If a device driver suddenly or unexpectedly turns its interrupts off and gets stuck in a loop for an excessive period of time, the system is delayed, which includes delays for VoIP messages.
Thus, what is needed is a system and method that separates the VoIP functionality from the normal operations of a computer. What is also needed is a system and method that provides a VoIP offload that operates independent of the host partition and its operating system. What is further needed is a system and method that provides a VoIP system capable of operating with the same reliability as a traditional POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service) system.